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DURHAM – As maligned as North Carolina’s defense is, and as much as it struggled on the road once again Saturday night at Duke, it still found a way to make a big play helping the Tar Heels notch another victory away from home.
This isn’t exactly a recipe any coach would willingly draw up: Get gashed on the ground and/or surrender huge chunks on passing plays all game, just to rise up and get a key stop in the final minute to secure a victory.
But if that’s where UNC is at this time, the Tar Heels will take it, and hope to fine-tune something so late-game heroics aren’t as necessary down the road.
It was needed in their 38-35 win over the Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium.
“That's nothing but resiliency,” UNC sophomore star DeAndre Boykins said afterward. “We know every team that we play is going to give us their best, so we just lock-in. Everybody just to their 1/11, and we come out on top.”
The prolific Carolina offense drove 74 yards on nine plays in a span of 1:53 scoring a go-ahead touchdown with 16 seconds remaining in the contest. But as poorly as the UNC defense had played, outside a stretch of the third quarter, that was seemingly plenty of time for Duke to at least get into field goal range.
The Blue Devils appeared headed toward doing so when quarterback Riley Leonard hooked up with Jordan Moore for 28 yards on Duke’s first possession of the ensuing drive, moving the ball to the UNC 47-yard-line with 11 seconds left.
An incomplete pass followed, courtesy of terrific coverage by Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray, leaving Duke with seven seconds left. On the next snap, Noah Taylor, who was basically eyeing Leonard, stayed about 10 feet from him, and when Leonard released a pass, Taylor leaped in the air and tipped the ball.
Diving forward to catch it was true freshman safety Will Hardy with two seconds left, and the game was over.
"We definitely had problems stopping their offense, but like I said before, this team is resilient,” Gray said. “This team never gives up. This team always gives great effort and plays hard. And when you do that it kind of bails you out sometimes.
“And that's what you are seeing, guys just playing hard and just making plays when things really matter."
The Tar Heels made a play stopping Appalachian State on a two-point conversion try to end a 63-61 victory in Boone last month. The defense blanked Georgia State on the road in the fourth quarter a week later forcing a three-and-out in UNC territory on the Panthers’ final drive in a 35-28 victory.
And last week at Miami, after Gray made a heady play keeping a Hurricanes’ receiver inbounds, thus they couldn’t stop the clock, Boykins intercepted a pass on the next play to end Miami’s threat in a three-point win.
Carolina has averaged giving up 537.5 yards and 29 first downs on the road this season, but the defense has risen to the occasion at crunch time, with the close out of the Blue Devils the most recent late-game thwarting.
